''Tripus Aureus'' or ''The Golden Tripod'' is an

alchemical Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...

book by

Michael Maier Michael Maier ( la, Michael Maierus; 1568–1622) was a German physician and counsellor to Rudolf II Habsburg. He was a learned alchemist, epigramist, and amateur composer. Early life Maier was born in Rendsburg, Holstein, the son of a spe ...

published in 1618 by

Lucas Jennis Lucas Jennis (1590–1630) was a German engraver. He was the leading publisher of alchemical works of his time. Life Jennis was born to Lucas Jennis the Elder in Frankfurt. His father was a wealthy goldsmith, jeweller, and engraver who had fl ...

. It contains three alchemical texts: The "twelve keys" of

Basil Valentine Basil Valentine is the Anglicised version of the name Basilius Valentinus, ostensibly a 15th-century alchemist, possibly Canon of the Benedictine Priory of Saint Peter in Erfurt, Germany but more likely a pseudonym used by one or several 16th-c ...

, Thomas Norton's ''Ordinal of Alchemy'' (1477), and ''The Testament of Cremer''.

''The Twelve Keys of Basil Valentine''

This alchemical book is spuriously attributed to the figure of

, and was first published in 1599. It's presented as a sequence of alchemical operations encoded allegorically, in words to which images have been added. Maier's Latin edition in ''Tripus aureus'' contains woodcut illustrations for all twelve keys for the first time. These were engraved by

Matthaeus Merian Matthaeus (also Matthæus) is a given name, the Latin form of Matthew (given name), Matthew. Notable people with the name include: * Matthaeus Greuter (1564–1638), German etcher and engraver who worked in Rome * Matthaeus Pipelare (c. 1450 – ...

''Testament of Cremer''

The ''Testament of Cremer'' is a pseudo-

text which originated in sixteenth century England. Two manuscript copies of it exist. One is in the hand of

Elias Ashmole Elias Ashmole (; 23 May 1617 – 18 May 1692) was an English antiquary, politician, officer of arms, astrologer and student of alchemy. Ashmole supported the royalist side during the English Civil War, and at the restoration of Charles II he ...

and is housed in the Bodleian Library. The other is a French translation in the

Wellcome Collection Wellcome Collection is a museum and library based at 183 Euston Road, London, displaying a mixture of medical artefacts and original artworks exploring "ideas about the connections between medicine, life and art". Founded in 2007, the Wellcome C ...

dated to around 1675. Maier's transcription is the earliest extant copy of the text.Hereward Tilton. ''The Quest for the Phoenix: Spiritual Alchemy and Rosicrucianism in the Work of Count Michael Maier (1569-1622)''. Walter de Gruyter, 2003. p.109-112 The author calls himself John Cremer, Abbott of Westminster. According to the text, he lived at the time of

Raymond Lull Ramon Llull (; c. 1232 – c. 1315/16) was a philosopher, theologian, poet, missionary, and Christian apologist from the Kingdom of Majorca. He invented a philosophical system known as the ''Art'', conceived as a type of universal logic to p ...

(c. 1232–c. 1315) and

King Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ...

(1312–1377). However, there is no such abbot on the rolls of Westminster. The medieval origins of the document are doubtful. Maier translated the text from English into Latin and it was published for the first time in his 1618 volume. Maier warns his readers:

''Either the meaning of the Author or the letter of his writings is deceitful. Be on your guard, therefore. Everywhere a serpent lurks among the flowers. Yet scorn not a friend who spoke as plainly as he might. Beneath the shadowy foliage of words is concealed the golden fruit of Truth.''

Cremer's text was also published in '' Musaeum Hermeticum'' (1625) and later in

Arthur Edward Waite Arthur Edward Waite (2 October 1857 – 19 May 1942) was a British poet and scholarly mystic who wrote extensively on occult and esoteric matters, and was the co-creator of the Rider–Waite tarot deck (also called the Rider–Waite–Smith ...

's ''Hermetic Museum''.

The introduction tells the author's story of a journey to Italy. According to legend, Cremer visited Lull in Milan 1330. The two men returned to England, where they worked to supply gold to Edward III, which he used against France.

James Brown Craven Archdeacon James Brown Craven (1850 – 17 April 1924) was author of the ''History of the Church in Orkney'' and several other works on ecclesiastical history. He was a founder and the first president of the Orkney Antiquarian Society. The son of ...

''The Works of Count Michael Maier''. 1910. Kessinger Legacy Reprints. p.96 After a five verse hymn, a pseudo alchemical recipe follows in seven short chapters. This text contains little of the allegory and deck names common in alchemical literature.

References

External links

''Testament of Cremer'' English text on The Alchemy Website
{{Alchemy, state=expanded 1618 books Alchemical documents

''The Twelve Keys of Basil Valentine''

''Testament of Cremer''

Contents

References

External links